Potential Energy

The water absorbs the light, drowning
the shore strewn with garbage. A heron uses
an MGD bottle to triangulate its position
for a landing. It stares at the turtles from a grassy perch,
high as the walls of Troy.

The colors are ill-suited for mid-afternoon.
Too many egrets occupy the right side of the sky.
O lake, you lack the nuance of a master’s brush.
The egrets, off-white and refusing to hold their poses,
flap like forgotten pamphlets.

The herons have taken flight, the egrets as well, leaving the matted grass.
Some tan-faced men picked up the MGD bottle,
perhaps to be recycled. Mosquitoes fill the air.
Even the sunlight has left the waters.